Getting paid to go on holiday

Collette and Scott Stohler are “influencers”. The attractive couple stumbled by accident into a field that pays them around $200,000 annually to travel the world and snap nice photos lying on the beach and sitting in a restaurant.

The American couple get paid by companies – most notably in the travel business – to post attractive photos on their Instagram account.

They can be found at their website, Roamaroo.

GOOD INCOME

They charge around $2,000 per post, most of which is ploughed back into their business, according to the BBC,

The couple, previously an engineering manager and an ad producer, launched Roamaroo two years ago, according to the BBC report. They had come to the end of a seven-month, round-the-world trip they decided to take with money saved for a second home, after listening to a podcast about adventurous sabbaticals. Towards the end of their journey, they realized that their social media following had been growing, and decided to turn their nomadic lifestyle into a business.

The Instagram influencer industry is growing, according to Mediakix.

According to Mediakix, the decline of traditional TV and the growth of social media has given rise to what is called “influencer marketing” – one of the fastest gwoing categories in advertising that is projected to be a $5-10 billion market by 2020.

HARD WORK

Collette Stohler told the BBC that while the business may sound amazing – getting paid to spend six months of there year in exotic locations around the world – it involves a lot of hard grind. It may take 50 proposals made to companies or tourist offices to reel in just one or two “yeses”.

While the clients can dictate how many Instagram posts are in the deal, for example, the couple gets final say on what they write and what photos to publish, according to the BBC report. The Stohlers say branded posts make up around 25 percent of their social media feed, and now, while they still pitch for work, the companies also come to them.

The Stohlers have managed to turn their passion into a good living – but it involves hard work.

GROWING MARKET

Right at this point in time, there is no hard and fast rule about pay and opportunities in this field.

For the Stohlers, it clearly helps have an image of an “attractive couple” – an alternative to the traditional models who used to or still do pose for travel brochures or articles.

What is important to keep in mind is those who become influencers have to be amazing, according to a marketing analyst. There is, after all, a lot to grab people’s attention on social media. You’ve got to stand out.

Stay tuned for the release of the book, PASSION PLAYERS: How Creative People Leverage the Internet for Success, due out in late 2018.